Snow blower apparatus



July 30, 1963 R. G. sxMMoNs SNOW BLOWER APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Shea?I 1Filed Feb. 27, 1961 INVENToR. RICHARD Q. s|MMoNs WWW@ @A vwl/14;.

ATTORNEYS July 30, 1963 R. G. slMMoNs SNOW BLOWER APPARATUS 4Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 27, 1961 INVENTOR.

RICHARD G, SIMMONS H2M@ yyem ATTO RNEYS July 3o, 1963 R. G. SIMMONS3,099,396

SNOW BLOWER APPARATUS Filed. Feb. 27, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 50 151 151 o)65 2O 2O INVENToR. mcHARD G. S11/MONS BY amv,

ATTORNEYS July 30, 1963 R. G. slMMoNs 3,099,396

SNOW BLOWER APPARATUS Filed Feb. 27, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 JNVENTOR. 06O CO25 1 RICHARD G. S1MMON5 n l l,

v4 By (G MV u MFV Q) WMQWw/cyw no F'lGLll ATTORNEYS United States PatentO 3,099,396 SNOW BLOWER AFFARATUS Richard G. Simmons, 3909 George St.,Franklin Fark, lili. Filed Feb. 27, 1961, Ser. No. 91,717 i claim. (ci.23a-sse) My invention relates to snow blower apparatus, and morepanticularly, to blower apparatus that is especially adapted -forremoving snow from railroad track, though it is well 'suited fornumerous other snow removal uses as well.

While the removal of snow and ice is an operation that brings noadditional income to the railroads, it is a necessary maintenanceproblem for many railroads and presents ditiiculties that must be meteach year to insure reasonably efficient operation during inclementweather.

The annual reoccurrence of the snow removal problem and continual risingcosts of labor over the years have resulted in the development of manytypes of machines and devices for facilitating this operation.Conventional equipment ,available includes complex snow removal andmelting plants, special plow `carrying car units, accessories forspreaders, cranes and such off-track equipment as bulldozers, tractorsand Scrapers, loader and automobile trucks, `as well as the use ofpneumatic and electric t-ie tamping equipment for removing ice, and ofweed burners for lighter snow falls.

Nevertheless, experience has shown ,that conventional equipment leavesmuch to be desired from the standpoint of reliable, eiiicient,economical operatic-n, due to the complexity of the equipment and theneed for skilled labor to operate same, the variable 'and generallyunrfavorable conditions under which such equipment must be operated, and,the special snow rernofval elicits that must .be met in connection withtrack switches, cross overs, and the like.

A principal object of this invention is to provide a `snow removalapparatus that is. not only reliable and economical to operate under aWide variety of operating conditions, but which also effects removal of,when necessary, even hard packed snow and ice.

Still another important object of the invention is to provide asimpliiied snow blower arrangement that may be applied -to anyconvenient or existing wheeled frame for operation in combating the snowhazard.

A yfurther important object ci the invention is to provide a snow bloweraparatus and method that is particularly adapted for use in railroadyards.

Other objects of the invention are to provide snow blower apparatus otthe air blower type including a capacity air source, to provide improvednozzles for concentrating the air ilow where it is needed, to provide asnow ripper arrangement for breaking up hard snow and ice, 1to1 providea snow :blower arrangement that permits the use of standard wheeledframes for conveying same, and to provide a snow .blower apparatus thatis economical of manufacture, convenient to use and install, and eicientand reliable in operation.

Other objects, usesy and advantages will be obvious or become apparentfrom a consideration of the following detailed description, whenconsidered together with the accompanying drawings.

In .the drawings:

FIGURE l is a side elevational View illustrating one embodiment `ot theinvention as applied to railroad equipment;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the blower aparatus shown in FIGURE l;

FIGURE 2a is a fragmental perspective view of a snow ripper nozzle inaccordance with this invention;

FIGURE 3 is an elevational view ci the blower duct Patented July 30,1963 ICC and nozzle structure shown in FIGURE l, but on a somewhatenlarged scale;

FIGURE 4 is a crossasectional view substantially along line 4-4 `ofFIGURE `2;

FIGURE 5 is la cross-sectional view substantially along line 5 5 ofFIGURE 4;

FIGURES 6 `and 7 are a side elevational view and plan view,respectively, of a modified form of blower apparatus;

FIGURES i8 and 9 are a side elevational view and a plan View,respectively, of still a further modied form of the blower apparatus;

FIGURE ll) is a plan view of the blower nozzle of the form shown inFIGURES 8 and 9; and

FIGURE l1 is an end View of the nozzle shown in FIGURE l0, takensubstantially along line 11-11.

General Description Referring now to FIGURES l and 2, reference numerall@ generally indicates one embodiment of my invention applied to a moreor less conventional railroad push Icar I2 that rides on track I4applied in the usualv manner to ties I6, which in turn rest on thecustomary ballast (not shown).

In the form of FIGURES l and 2, the car l2 is moved ialong the rails l5ci track iiiby a conventional driving push car 18 that is driven in anyconventional and customary manner.

The apparatus itly generly comprises a blower device 2t) mounted in anysuitable manner on a lbed or platform 22 that may be carried by car l2and connected to ducting 2lithat includes a funnel member 26 and anozzle member 28 that terminates an outlet opening 39 which is generallyoval shaped in the form of FIGURES 1 and 2.

In the embodiment of FIGURES l `and 2, the nozzle member 28 is swivellyconnected to the funnel member 24 by an appropriate type of swivelconnection at the joint 32 and the nozzle member may be moved from sideto side from the dashed line positions of FIGURE 2 by the operatorrotating actuating shaft 36 by using hand wheel 38, which turns thenozzle member 28 with respect to the funnel member through a cable 40,both ends of which are fixed to a spindle 42 that is keyed to shaft 36,and the center of which is xed to the nozzle member 28 in any suitablemanner, yas by welding at 43.

The blower device 20 is of the general type illustrated in FIGURES 4yand 5, and is actuated by an `appropriate power unit 44 through anappropriate 4clutch 46 and couplings 48. A guard 50 in the form of arelatively large mesh screening is applied over the intake side of theblower device 20.

The blower 19 also includes snow ripper devices 69 that are applied oneither side of the nozzle member 28. The ripper devices 69 each compriserelatively small diameter piping conduits 62 secured to the car l2 inany sui-table manner, as by appropriate clamps 64 and terminating inbifurcated nozzles 66 that define nozzle elements 68 positioned oneither side of a track rail I5. The conduit62 may be connected byilexible conduits 7l) to an appropriate form of Iair compressor 72carried by the push car 18. However, any suitable source of air may beemployed to supply nozzles 66 with the air flow desired, and it iscontemplated that the car 12 may be arranged to carry an air compressorfor this purpose.

In accordance with this invention, the blower device 20* and the nozzlemember 23 are arranged to apply in a concentrated manner as large avolume flow of air as reasonably possible to the track bed between vandselectively against the individual track rails 15. In a specific form ofthe apparatus shown in FIGURE l, the blower device 29 is a 29 in-chvane-axial blower made by the Hartzell Propeller Fan Company of Piqua,Ohio (which has a 2,400 rpm. 17,000 cubic foot per minute capacityrating), While the nozzle member 28 is a tube that is round incross-sectional conguration and terminates in a nozzle opening that ison the order of one and a half square foot in area.

The apparatus 10 is particularly adapted for use in railroad yards.After a snowfall has commenced and it appears that snow removal will berequired, apparatus 10 is moved onto the yard track and continuouslyoperated over the yard track as long as the snowfall continues 'toaccumulate or drift. This is done by employing the power actuated pushcar 18, or in any other suitable arrangement, to move the apparatus 10in a forward direction (to the right of FIGURES 1 and 2) as required tofree the track of snow and ice.

During operation of apparatus 10, motor 44 actuates blower device 20 tosupply a large volume air flow to the nozzle member 28, from which it isemitted with -a force comparable to 100 rn.p.h. gale. The nozzle member28 is angled somewhat as shown with respect to the track bed(approximately 45 degrees from the vertical in the illustratedembodiment of FIGURES 1 and 2) and as apparatus 10 is moved alongr thetrack, nozzle member 28 is moved back and forth between the dashed lineposition of FIGURE 2 to effect removal of snow that is accumulated onthe track bed and rails.

Where weather conditions have resulted in the formation of hardened snowand ice across the track rails, the ripper devices 60 are actuated bysupplying air under pressure to the conduiting 62. Conduitings 62 arerelatively small in diameter (5% inch pipe in the illustratedembodiment) and the -air which is supplied by a standard air compressorof suit-able capacity, emits from nozzle elements 68 in the form ofrelatively fine air jet blasts on either side of the individual rails15, which break up hardened snow and ice for removal by the nozzle 28.After such hardened snow and ice has been broken on either side of theindividual rails 1S, the large volume continuous air blast from thenozzle member 23 will readily blow the refuse to one side of the trackbed.

It will be obvious, of course, that apparatus is fully operative on anytrackage, but the concentration of trafiic and the consequent necessarytrack equipment in yards makes yard use of apparatus 10, -as well as theother modifications illustrated, of particular significance.

In the embodiment of FIGURE 1, a ow directing baffle 76 is appliedacross the rear of the nozzle open end 31 to prevent backflow of the airleaving nozzle member 28 and accentuate the forward thrust of the airblast leaving the blower apparatus. Bafiie 76 also defines part ofopening 30 in Ithis embodiment of the invention.

In the embodiment 10a of FIGURES 6 and 7, the nozzle member 28a isbifurcated to define laterally directed tubes r80 that terminate innozzle elements 82, the outlet openings 30a of which are positionedabove the track rails approximately as indicated in these two iig-ures.The nozzle elements `82 have approximately the same angulation withrespect to the track bed as the embodiment of `FIGURES 1 and 2, anddefine nozzle openings 30a that together have a composite effective areaon the order of one and one-half square feet.

Nozzle member 28a is connected to funnel member 26 by an elbow structure`84 and an extension structure 86, but, of course, this intermediateconnecting arrangement may be of any suitable character.

The form of FIGURES `6 and 7 also illustrates the modified snow ripperarrangement 60a wherein a conduit 90 connects the nozzles 66 on eitherside of the nozzle member 28a, and nozzle elements 68 are applied acrossthe entire track bed between rails 15, somewhat as indicated in FIGURE7.

The embodiment of FIGURES 6 and 7 is otherwise substantially the same asthat of FIGURES 1 and 2, as indicated by corresponding identicalreference numerals, though in this embodiment, the nozzle member 28a isfixed with respect to the funnel member 28, and con- 4 sequently theshaft 36 of FIGURES 1 and 2 and its appurtenant parts are eliminated.

The embodiment :of FIGURES 6 and 7 is operated in substantially the sameway as that of FIGURES 1 and 2 except that nozzle member 28a is notrotated. This form of the invention is particularly adapted for clearingsnow from under switch points, where the ballast level is usually belowthe tops of the ties.

In the embodiment of FIGURES 8-l\l, the nozzle mem-ber 2S?) is `formedto terminate in an elongate narrow outlet opening Silb, which is made ofsutiicient length to extend over and between both track rails 15, asindicated in 'FIGURE 1, while retaining lan orifice area of one andone-half square feet. Nozzle member 2811 is connected to funnel member24 by an appropriate elbow member 100.

As shown in FIGURES 10 and 1l, the nozzle member 25519 is provided withair flow directing vanes or baffles 102, 11M and 166, which areessentially planar plates iixed between the sides 103 and 110 of thenozzle member. Preferably, supplemental flow directing vanes or bafiies112 are secured in place adjacent the bafiies or vanes 102 and 166 in:approximately the positions indicated in FIG- URE 10 for the purpose ofbetter insuring the sidewise blowing action of the air blast emittingfrom nozzle member 28h. As indicated, the vanes or bafiies 112 should beapproximately parallel to the respective sides :114 of the nozzle member28h.

The apparatus 10b is otherwise essentially the same as that shown inFIGURES 1 and 2 as indicated by corresponding identical referencenumerals.

Specific Description rlhe specific `form of blower device 20 employed inthe illustrated embodiments of the invention is best shown in FIGURES 4and 5.

`It will there be seen that the blower device 20 generally comprises fanannular outer housing member fixed to an inner annular housing membery122, as by welding appropriate spacer battles 1124 to both of thesemembers; baiiies 124 are preferably symmetrically arranged about theblower device 20 :and may be of any suitable number commensurate withthe strength requirements to be satisfied. The 29 inch Iblower sizepreviously mentioned corresponds to the internal diameter of housingmember 120.

The inner housing member 122 has fixed within same spaced supportstructures 126 for the respective pillow [block bearing units 12S thatare employed to journal blower shaft 130i. Blower' shaft `130y has keyedthereto a rotor 132 provided with spaced vanes or blades I134 angled asrequired to create a high volume air flow through the `annular chamber136, that is defined by the housing members 120 and `122, in thedirection of arrows 137, when the shaft an-d rotor are rotated in thedirection of the arrow 129 of FIGURE 5. An appropriate cover 138 isfixed over the rotor 132 in the illustrated embodiment of FIG- URE 4.

It will be apparent that the bearing units 128` may be of any suitabletype, though they usually are of the ball bearing form for applicationssuch as that illustrated. Likewise, the support stnuctures may be of anyconvenient form, such as that idiagrammatically illustrated in FIGURE 5which contemplates plates 140 welded tor otherwise secured in operativeposition with housing member 122 in association with brackets 141.

The motor 44, the clutch 46, the couplings 48, and other -devicesessential [for transmitting the motive power of motor 44 to shaft A1310may be of yany conventional and suitable type. In the present instance,moto-r y414-' is a 35 horsepower gasoline engine operating fat 2,400r.p.m. under load conditions. Clutch 46 is operated by fusing handle tostopt and start blower device 20.

The guard Sil is formed in any suitable manner from a large meshscreening material that preferably has mesh openings defining an openingarea on the order of that defined by one and one-half inch square meshopenings. The shaffting 151 for driving shaft `130` extends through thecover 50 in any suitable manner. Cover 50 may be secured in pl-ace inany suitable manner.

The ducting 24 including .funnel member 26 and nozzle member 28 may be-forrned 'from any suitable materials, though l2 gauge sheet metal isconsidered appropriate for the embodiment of FIGURES l fand 2. Member 26is formed with connecting iifanges 152 ttor cooperation with theadjacent ange 154 of the blower device 20` and the adjacent flange 156of the nozzle member 23, for purposes of appropriately securing theseelements together. As already indicated, the swivel connection betweennozzle member 28 and funnel member 26 may be of any suitable type,`while funnel member 26 may be secured to housing 120 by bolts lorwelding or in rany suitable manner.

The ripper nozzles 66- and their Iassociated conduiting may assume anyappropriate type of piping, and may be supported `or braced in `anysuitable manner, though for 5/4 inch piping, conduiting 62 should besupplied with air -at a rate on the order of 250 cubic :feet per minute.However, the arrangement should be such that the nozzles 66 extendforwardly of the nozzle member 28, somewhat as indicated in FIGURES land 2, so that the snow and ice broken up by them will be swept away bythe air blast from nozzle 28 as the apparatus 1t) moves in a forwarddirection.

Nozzle elements 68 (see FIGURE 2a) preferably cornprise short 3% inchpipe lengths with their tips 159 flattened to define outlet orificesV161 on the order of 1/16 of an inch in Width. Elements 68 should -besecured in place so that the wide dimension of the respective oriiiceslies in a plane that is parallel to the direction of movement. Thus,nozzles 68 will emit fiat high velocity jets that provide a knife-likecutting action on either side or' the respective track rails as theblower apparatus moves along the track.

The shaft 36 for actuating nozzle member 23 may be secured in place inany suitable manner, as by being rotatably applied to the spaced bracemembers 160 that are in turn welded to :the respective members '26. and120.

The platform 22 that is carried by car 12 is provide-d with appropriateflooring where indicated at 162 to accommodate the operator. In theillustrated embodiments, ooring 1162 as vvell as motor `i4 and blowerdevice 231 are mounted in any suitable manner on bed 22, and bed 22takes the form of a separable pallet 163I that is removably applied tocar 12. Bed 22 as well as car 12 may take any suitable form; and, ofcourse, car 12 need not be of the railroad type unless the snow removalpurposes of the apparatus are to be conned by users to railroad track.

In the speciiic embodiments illustrated, car 12 takes the form of astandard push car frame 166` including the customary railroad typeflanged wheels 168 that are journalled in frame 166 in any suitablemanner and ride on rails 1'5.. Bed 22 comprises spaced channel beams 167Xed together in any suitable manner and carrying suitable angle brackets169 adapted to be iixed to car 12 by appropriate bolts 116961 or thelike. Suitable eyes 165 or the like may be secured to the motor 44 andhousing 120i, or elsewhere, for purposes of crane lifting pallet 163sybetween vehicles that are to support same. I contemplate also thatpallet 163 may be secured in place in some manner that permitsadjustment of the nozzle (2S-26h), both vertically and with regard toits angulation from the Vertical. This may take the kform of adjustablysecuri-ng brackets 169 to beams 167 so that the bed 22 may be shimmed tothe desired adjustment, or shims, as desired, may be applied underbrackets 169 or beams 167 before bolts 169a are applied.

In the embodiment of FIGURES 8-ll, the nozzle member l28]; and elbow 100are formed from l2 gauge sheet metal, though any other suitable materialmay be employed. Flanges 180i are provided on these parts for securingthe various members together by appropriate bolts 182.

6 In a preferred form of the embodiment of FIGURES 8-11, the nozzleopening Siib is six `feet in length and three inches in width, makingthe length of the opening @0b approximately 24 times its width andadequate to cover both rails of U.S. standard gauge track (US. standardgauge is 561/2 inches). Using the blower and motor units indicated, thedimeusioning of nozzle opening 3017 permits an air flow on the order of10,5001 cubic foot per minute to sweep the track across the length ofthe ties; the vanes 112 insure that the air ow from nozzle 28th acts thef-ull length of theties, which is normally on the order of eight feetNozzle 23h should be angled somewhat with respect to the track, anangulation on the order of l0 `degrees from the vertical (assuming alevel or horizontal track bed) being preferred. In other words, the airblast `from nozzle 2517 should be applied against the track at an anglethat is at least on the order of 8O degrees with respect to the track.

I have found that there is a critical relationship between the size ofthe nozzle ldischarge opening and the volume flow of air through samethat must be observed to obtain the most effective blowing action forsnow removal purposes, and this is complied 'with by providin-g aneffective nozzle discharge opening area on the order of one and one-halfsquare feet and providing for a discharge iiow rate on the order of10,000 cubic feet per minute. This relationship is observed in all theillustrated embodiments and constitutes an important aspect of theinvention. The shape of the nozzle discharge opening is immaterial asfar as the relationship is concerned, and it is also immaterial whattype of air actuator is used, though is should have a capacity on theorder of that mentioned concerning blower device 2.0:

Distinguishing Characteristics of the Invention It will therefore beseen that I have provided a blower apparatus arrangement contemplatingthe use of a high capacity source of air flow fed to a large boreducting arrangement terminating in a nozzle arrangement having a reducedbut still comparatively large area outlet opening for rapid discharge ofa continuous large volume fast moving blast of air. The nozzlearrangement is su-ch that deiiection of the air blast dischargelaterally of the blower apparatus is insured to blow accumulated snow toeither side of a track. This lateral deiiection is provided in theembodiment of FIGURES l and 2 by the swivel mounting of the nozzlemember, while in the embodiment of FIGURES `6 and 7, and 8-11 it isinsured by the shape of the specic nozzle members there illustrated.

An important feature of the illustrated embodiments is that the blower2t) in effect packs the respective nozzles 28-2817 with air so that theadditional air compression achieved by so doing, together with theoutline of openings Siti-30h provide a marked increase in the air blastaffect on the snow due to the expanding of the air as it leaves thenozzle. The nozzle opening area and volume rate of air ow therefrom thathave been indicated are considered optimums for standard U.S`. railroaddimensions.

Operable in conjunction with the large volume nozzle discharge are thesnow and ice ripper devices, which essentially provide relatively iinehigh powered flat air jets that operate forwardly of the blowerapparatus to blow traces or slits in hard snow and ice and thereby breakit up so that it can be blown to one side by the large volume nozzlestructure.

While my invention has been disclosed in association with railroad carequipment, it will be immediately ap parent that the basic principlesmay be applied to the removal of snow from air fields, streets or anyother flat area where snow accumulation is to be avoided. The removablepallet arrangement in which the blower, ducting, nozzle and motorcomponents are incorporated makes the apparatus unusually versatile andreadily transferable between appropriate vehicles or other supportingstructures.

The various forms of the 4invention may be used for track cleaningpurposes other rthan snow removal, such as the removal of engine sandfrom switch leads and yard track, and for blowing ballast away from tieswhen performing track raising operations, so as to permit operation oftie adz-ing machines.

The foregoing description and the drawings are given merely to explainand illustrate my invention and the invention is not to be limitedthereto, except insofar as :the appended claims are so limited, sincethose skilled in ythe art who have my disclosure before them will bea'b'le to make modifications and variations therein Without departingfrom the scope of the invention` I claim:

A nozzle for railroad track snow blower apparatus, said nozzlecomprising a tubular structure formed to de ne a rounded inlet openingat one end and an elongate outlet opening at the other end thereofhaving an effective discharge area that is at least on the order of oneand one-half square feet, with the long dimension of said outlet openingbeing on the order of twenty-four times as long as the narrow dimensionthereof, said outlet opening thereby being proportioned to permit an airflow therethrough at la rate on the order of 10,000 cubic feet perminute, said outlet opening being proportioned to extend over andbetween fthe rails of a track, when the nozzle is positioned above atrack with said outlet extending tnansversely thereof, said inletopening being proportioned to :admit air flow intosaid nozzle at saidrate, said tubular structure including baffle means for symmetricallysubdividing the bore of said tubular structure into passage-s extendinglongitudinally of said tubular structure, said bale means comprisingspaced imp-erforate planar members disposed in planes that arelperpendicular to the plane that includes both the axis of said bore andthe longitudinal axis of said outlet opening and that diverge outwardlyof said outlet opening, and 1a pair of supplemental flow detlecting`bales secured within said tubular structure adjacent said outletopening, said supplemental baffles being disposed on either side of saidbore axis adjacent the ends of said outlet opening longitudinal axis andbeing respectively secured to an adjacent planar member of said planarmembers and projecting toward said opening, said supplemental battlesextending substantially parallel to the respective sides of said tubularstruc-ture that they lare adjacent to.

. References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS281,497 Gunther July 17, 1883 469,211 Kline Feb. 16, 1892 490,269Chisholm Jan. 24, 1893 577,362 Ettlinger Feb. 16, 1897 893,878 ShiresJuly 21, 1908 927,449 Carnahan July 6, 1909 986,946 Saxon Mar. 14, 19111,007,594 Moorhouse Oct. 31, 1911 1,594,709 Bubb et al. Aug. 3, 19261,603,978 Parkhurst Oct. 19, 1926 2,132,727 Foote Oct. 11, 19382,230,320I `Cockrill Feb. 4, 1941 2,609,240 Faulkner et al Sept. 2, 19522,785,015 Van Den Broek Mar. 12, 1957 2,802,286 Wylie Aug. 13, 1957OTHER REFERENCES Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition) dated November30, 1960, page 7 relied on.

